"You gotta go out and hustle." JYD (Jerome Williams, alias the Junk Yard Dog)

In January, JYD volunteer, Jalyssa Mills from 8D brought the JYD Mission Possible presentation to Hazel McCallion. The presentation included a speech from Johnnie Williams (JYD’s brother), songs and a poem from Steve C. and Andrea Henry, one of the group members of the infamous Sugar Jones. Its goal was to help us students acheive our goals, realize our dreams and to keep children off the street.

During the presentation Johnnie Williams gave an emotional speech and described himself as someone who always wanted to be a leader like Martin Luther King. Unfortunately because he spoke with a lisp and he was shy, he didn’t talk much. He explained that his passion in life was to speak to people, but he was afraid to speak up. He was always smart, but he was also afraid that he wouldn’t fit in and that people would make fun of him for the way he talked. So, his marks continued to drop until he actually gathered up the courage to realize who he really was. Sadly, as he told us, it took him a long time to make this realization, so JYD’s programme is designed to prevent this from happening to anyone else and he is telling us to stand up against the fears we feel from peer pressure.

Since he was always afraid to speak in front of people, he always gave his speeches to his brother to recite. Then, JYD (Junk Yard Dog, former Toronto Raptor player, now playing for the Chicago Bulls)) a.k.a. Jerome Williams, decided to give him a big break. One day, Jerome gave Johnnie back his speech telling him to say it himself. Having no one to say his words, Johnnie had to go through with it and this developed his confidence. The message was trying to tell us to learn from our mistakes as he did in the past. He also explained that his father had two dreams, to play basketball and to speak to other people. Unfortunately, his father’s dreams could not be fufilled because he had polio and he was busy taking care of his two sons.

Furthermore, Johnnie Williams explained that each and everyone of us should be able to face ourselves. He told us that every morning we should look at ourselves in the mirror to remind ourselves that we need to be ourselves, to try our best and to set some goals. "Success means going outside your comfort zone." He also said that we should appreciate our friends and our teachers, even for simple gestures such as sharing pencils. He reminded us that not enough people tell their friends how much they appreciate having them in their life.

By changing the lyrics of popular songs, Steve C. a.k.a. QTMC (Quest To a Make Change) performed positive songs to spread their messages. Later, Andrea Henry was introduced to the performance; you may have recognized her as part of the Canadian Popstar band, Sugar Jones. She emphasized that everyone is beautiful and that personal happiness starts from inside. Her poem, "There's a body on the other side." was about looking at yourself in the mirror. She also sang, "Fly Away". Their poetry and songs focused on raising self-esteem and in eliminating bullying, but they also involved the audience. By doing so, it got the students interested and made them want to pay attention to what they really had to say.

In conclusion, JYD Mission Possible messages of anti-bullying, anti-peer pressure, high self-esteem, and learning from your mistakes has reached about a hundred thousand kids this year. "You can’t buy moments with money," says Johnnie Williams. He was really telling us that time is the most important thing we have.

For more information regarding the JYD Mission Possible please log on to www.JYDproject.org.  You can also purchase the Mission Possible CD from Chapters and Indigo.